Katherine Lucier knew she wanted three things when she graduated from high school — a chance to get out of the house, a job and money. During her senior year, she decided to meet with an army recruiter to discuss her future after two of her close friends joined the Army and the Navy.
By February 2006, Katherine had enlisted and knew exactly what she’d be doing after her
graduation from Nature Coast Technical High School in Brooksville. In fact, she even selected her job — an Army combat medic.
“I chose to enlist in the Army because it could offer me experiences I would have never had if I would have stayed home and gone to college,” says Katherine, now 19 and known as “Private Lucier” to her fellow soldiers.
She says that the Army gave her another family, financial stability and independence.
“I get free housing, education, medical and dental care, training and travel. I don’t pay for anything except my cell phone, and that’s because I wanted one. I bought a laptop and I have nice clothes,” Katherine says. “The Army allows me to be independent, but taken care of. I don’t have to depend on my parents. I am creating my own future and I can take care of myself.”
At first, Katherine says that her parents weren’t supportive of her decision.
“They said I was crazy, and couldn’t understand why I wanted to join. They were scared and kept saying I’d be shipped off to Iraq,” she says.
They said I was crazy, and couldn’t understand why I wanted to join. They were scared and kept saying I’d be shipped off to Iraq. 
When Katherine Lucier walked out of her Army recruiter’s office during her senior year of high school, she felt like she’d hit the jackpot. “My recruiter shared her experiences about being a woman in the Army and working as an engineer,” Katherine says. “She helped me identify my interests and showed me the job opportunities that were available to me.”
The thought of the war definitely crossed Katherine’s mind.
“That’s what I signed up for,” she says. “I knew that this was going to be my job. I’m going wherever the Army takes me. I know it will be hard, but I like everything else, I view it as an experience.”
Two weeks after her high school graduation, Katherine went to Fort Jackson, S.C., for nine weeks of basic training. Then she traveled to San Antonio, Texas, to get job training.
“We took an EMT (emergency medical technician) course that usually takes about two months, in only six weeks,” she says. “It was intensive, but a lot of fun. We all had to pass the national registry test when we completed the course.”
Soon after, Katherine learned combat-associated skills like how to insert IVs, make
tourniquets, draw blood and give shots in a simulated combat situation.
“Our trainers would put us in areas with low visibility and create a lot of background noise with people screaming,” she says. “It would get my adrenaline pumping, and I felt important knowing I could save someone’s life.”
Katherine is now in Germany, where she’ll be for the next two years. In the future, she wants to work as a registered nurse and eventually become an Army officer.
http://www.floridanext.com/careers/article_view.asp?id=530
–Ashley Cisneros
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Ashley Cisneros is a co-founder of Chatter Buzz Media, an Orlando Internet marketing firm that helps companies and organizations engage with their target markets through inbound marketing via the Internet. Chatter Buzz Media, which won the Social Madness competition for the Orlando small business market, is a full-service digital marketing firm specializing in website design, search engine optimization (SEO), social media marketing and content creation. Prior to founding Chatter Buzz, Ashley worked as a newspaper reporter, magazine editor, technical writer, marketing manager, public relations practitioner and freelance journalist. To see Ashley’s content writing, visit www.ashleycisneros.com. You can also reach Ashley on her Google profile.
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